Picture Perfect
by LanieSullivan
Summary: A fluffy little one-shot beginning with the tag scene of "Nightcrawler" in which Lee and Amanda take a moment to commemorate their engagement.


Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. I retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee and Amanda shared long, lingering kisses as he held her newly adorned left hand in his, sliding his other hand to her back to pull her closer while she slid her free right hand up his neck and into his hair relishing the feeling of having him close to her again after what felt like years without him. They kissed and held onto each other until they were both too breathless to continue any longer only breaking apart when they had no choice but to stop to catch their breath.

The silence that had begun since Lee had entered the room and found her staring at the ring he'd left for her to find continued as they just gazed at one another. For the moment, no words were needed. They both knew what they were feeling and the words didn't need to be spoken aloud. Simultaneously, the glanced down at the sparking diamond on Amanda's left ring finger both pondering its significance before looking back at one another and meeting each other in another heart-stopping kiss.

They weren't allowed to continue in their silence though as they were interrupted by the jarring ringing of the phone on her desk. They both sighed in frustration, Amanda attempting to release her hand from Lee's to answer it, but Lee only gripped her hand tighter. "Let it ring for once." He then used his hand in hers to pull her to her feet. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Let me just grab my purse," Amanda protested.

"You don't need it where we're going," Lee said as he yanked open their office door and stepped out into the hallway, his right hand still tightly gripping her left as he pulled her with him through the outer door, down the stairs and toward the exit, only giving Mrs. Marston a cursory glance as they passed by.

"Mr. Stetson, Mr. Melrose-"Mrs. Marston began.

"Can wait," Lee said not stopping as he and Amanda exited the building together.

"Lee, slow down," Amanda said.

"No, not now, Amanda, not this time," Lee said as he stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the building with her by his side.

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?"

"You'll see when we get there. This way," Lee said with a smile at her as they turned the corner. He felt as if he were flying, his feet not touching the ground at the happiness he felt that she'd agreed to be his wife.

"Lee, Sweetheart, I love you, but you've got to stop for a second," Amanda said.

Lee stopped in his tracks at her endearment. "What'd you call me?" He questioned, his smiled widening.

"Sweetheart," Amanda answered. "I...Is that a problem for you? I mean, if it is, I...Um...I won't do it again."

Lee kissed her tenderly and said, "No, it's not a problem. I kind of like it. I...Um...I guess I just never thought of myself as someone's sweetheart before."

"Well, you are mine," Amanda said as she reached up and caressed his face, lightly brushing her lips against his. "Now, you wanna' tell me where we're going?"

"It's just over there," Lee said as he pointed across the street to the photo booth that he'd met Mara at several times during their attempts to capture Addi Birol.

"The photo booth?" Amanda questioned.

"Yes," Lee said tugging at her hand and they began a more leisurely pace toward it. "I thought we should have something to commemorate our engagement," he said as they stopped at the corner and waited for the traffic signal to change so they could cross the street.

"But why there, of all places," Amanda asked.

As they traffic signal changed and they began their trip across the street, he explained with a gesture toward their destination, "Because this is where I met Mara, where she passed me the information that I needed to get to you and get you out of Birol's hands. This place, in a way is responsible for bringing you back to me, for the fact that we're engaged now." He squeezed her hand affectionately as they stepped up onto the curb. They stopped walking as they reached their stop. He finally released her hand long enough to reach for his wallet and insert the required bills for the machine.

"Engaged," Amanda said softly as she held up her left hand and examined the ring Lee had placed there moments before. She then glanced at him, "So, It wasn't a dream. I...Um...I wasn't hallucinating?"

This stopped Lee cold, his smile fading. "You thought it was a dream? You didn't believe that I asked you to marry me?"

"I...Um...to be honest, I didn't know for sure. I...Um...I wasn't thinking very clearly. I saw you a lot when you weren't really there, heard you say things that you didn't really say and then you were really there and I...It just got all mixed up in my mind what was real and what wasn't."

"So, when you said yes...you...Um...you didn't know if it was real or not," Lee said wondering if she really meant it. "So, when you said yes..." his voice trailed off as he found he couldn't even bear to complete the thought.

"Oh, I was hoping it was. I wanted so badly for it to be real and I...I...Um I guess I didn't really realize that it was until I saw that box sitting on my desk today. When I said yes, I meant it. I love you so much and I can't think of anything I want more than to be your wife."

"Good," Lee said his smile returning and relief flooding through him as he kissed her again. "I love you too and I can't think of anything_ I_ want more than to be your husband." He kissed her once more, gestured to the booth beside them and said, "Shall we?" as he reached for the curtain.

"Yeah," she said with a smile as they stepped inside.

Once inside, Lee sat and pulled her into his lap causing her to squeal, "It's a little bit of a tight squeeze in here."

"That's really not a problem for me," Amanda said as she snuggled against him.

"You ready?" Lee said as he linked his right hand with her left again.

"Ready when you are," Amanda replied.

"Here we go then," Lee said as he used his free hand to start the contraption and held tightly to her as they shifted positions a couple of times while the machine ran through its cycle, ending with a tender kiss.

When they stepped out a few minutes later and examined the strip of pictures the machine had produced, Lee said with a smile, "Look at that, our first engagement photos."

"Maybe our only ones," Amanda said as a realization hit her. "I mean, no one even knows that we've been seeing each other, let alone anything else."

"Well, I'd say if we're going to get married, that needs to change, don't you think?"

"I think we're going to have to have a long engagement since you just met my mother and you haven't met the boys yet," Amanda said. "And I don't even know how to begin to deal with the agency.

"I don't give a damn about what the agency thinks and as for your family, I'm willing to wait as long as it takes," Lee said. "I mean, I waited three years for you, what's a little longer? It's enough for me to know that it will happen."

Amanda glanced back down at the photos and said, "you know, I think this one is my favorite," indicating a shot that pictured them cuddled together, their hands linked in a way that prominently displayed her engagement ring, both wearing bright, happy smiles

"You know, I was just thinking the same thing," Lee said as he once again linked his hand with hers. "You know, we should get back before Billy sends out a search party for us."

"Yeah," she said.

"You know, he's one person at the agency who I don't think would be a bit surprised to find out that we're engaged."

Amanda laughed and said, "Probably not Edna D'Angelo either."

"Yeah, but we should probably tell Billy before we tell anyone else at the office," Lee replied.

While Lee and Amanda began a leisurely stroll back to the agency while they talked about plans for their future, the subject of their recent conversation stepped into the Q Bureau looking for his favorite agent team as he was curious as to why neither was answering the phone. At finding the office empty, he glanced around and that's when his eyes fell upon the blue box on Amanda's desk, a smaller velvet-covered box beside it, both as empty as the office. He smiled and said, "I'll be damned. He did it." He then made his way out of the office, hurried down the stairs and said to the matron at the desk. "Mrs. Marston, if you see Lee and Amanda, tell them I said that they can knock off for the rest of the day." When Mrs. Marston replied with a curt nod, he made his way to the elevator. As he did so, he couldn't help smiling. The reports on Amanda's abduction and subsequent rescue could wait another day. For now, he wanted to give them time to celebrate the new heights their relationship had reached.

As he stepped into the elevator, he found himself thinking of how grateful he was that Lee had chosen her to hand that package off to on that fateful September day and how grateful he was that he'd followed his own instincts to hire her and to continually urge Lee to work with her. All the way back to his office, his smile never faded as he wondered what the future might hold for the now-former lone wolf. 


End file.
